Subway ads for junk food target the poor

The study found advertisements correlated more with populations with diet-related health issues not with foot traffic.

Subway advertising for junk food and alcohol in the Bronx was more common in neighborhoods with higher poverty rates, higher percentages of Hispanic residents and higher percentages of children in nearby residential areas, according to a study published Wednesday in the Journal of Urban Health.

The advertising appeared to target areas with populations facing diet-related health challenges, not the busiest stations, according to the study co-authored by researchers from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Lehman College in the Bronx, and New York University in Manhattan. Researchers examined more than 1,500 ads on seven subway lines and in 68 stations in the Bronx in 2012.

"The fact that uneven ad placement did not relate to total rider counts suggests ads were not directed at the largest possible audiences but rather targeted to specific groups," the authors wrote.

The authors suggested the MTA might restrict advertising of unhealthful foods and beverages just as it regulates ads with indecent, obscene or illegal products and those promoting tobacco. However, the authors noted, determining which items are healthful could be difficult given the debate among nutritionists.

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